Joyce + Jonny’s Laidback Boho Wedding Reception at The Fire Pit Camp

Perfect for the kind of laidback rustic affair I love, and absolutely PERFECT for a gorgeous boho wedding reception like J & J hosted there last September. You can tell that this day (and their earlier beach elopement) meant so much to them and the thoughtful, creative touches present throughout are truly heart-warming.

Also FYI if you’re getting married this summer and don’t have a wedding cake piñata on your ‘must have’ list then you are missing a trick. So. Much. Fun!

Joyce + Jonny say…

We had a whirlwind of a wedding journey. We had to cancel our original plans due to Covid and ended up doing a ceremony on the beach a few months prior with just the two of us and found The Fire Pit Camp to host our reception in September. Rachel and Sarah were so kind and helpful in helping us pulling it off and the vibe was perfect for our kind of celebration. We wanted something relatively close by so we’d be more flexible when it came to restrictions and something with a lot of outdoor space. We were grateful to have staff and bar available as well as the use of their tables and benches so we didn’t have to rely on as many separate suppliers.

Hair and make-up was done by friends of ours and Joyce’s dress came from Pure Brides. Jonny’s shoes were tattooed by a friend of ours with a custom design while his suit came from Moss Bros – we really wanted a rusty red suit, so we were really happy to find one.

We ended up styling everything ourselves. We sourced items from car boot sales the previous year and as I (Joyce) am a graphic designer, I found it easy to do all the signage myself. We were heavily inspired by the story and imagery in The Little Prince and so it had a touch of boho desert vibes and a whole lot of dreamy nostalgia. We used old books everywhere as decor items and our colours represented significant characters in the book (the fox, the prince and the rose). The venue was a perfect starting point and made it easy to create an atmosphere without hiring lots of styling props. We wanted the day to include our favourite things, and always wanted a celebration full of art, stories, and connection. We had a sketchbook as a guestbook and our friends and family made some epic entries! We turned the top of the bus into an art gallery featuring my friend’s abstract paintings and photos from our elopement day. The space that is usually used for ceremonies got turned into a cinema (via a bedsheet and a projector) to show our elopement video, as our guests weren’t present for the actual ceremony.

My flower crown was crafted by the wonderful Mina from Hana Flower Works and my bouquet was arranged by a dear friend using dried flowers supplied from Mina and other sources. We decided to do everything with dried flowers, as we could source them over the length of the summer, and because of Covid we didn’t want to rely on fresh flowers (both because of import and reducing any extra pressure on the planning side). Because it was all dried, we were able to use it at our ceremony earlier in the summer and our reception. We found various Etsy shops that sold small dried bouquets and it worked a treat.

Churros and Chorizo made some delicious burgers and were so accommodating with dietary requirements, from vegan to gluten-free. The vegan one was so good, one of my friends had two! As it was our reception we didn’t have cake but we had churros and later smores around the fire.

Darina Stoda Photography was an absolute legend. Not only did she agree to shoot our elopement and our reception when we decided to change our original plans due to social distancing restrictions, but she also came into the water on our beach elopement day for some epic photos, climbed up the dunes and made friends with our guests on our reception day. She was the loveliest, laid-back person and captured the heart of our wedding adventures, we are so grateful.

Best part of the day

Being able to celebrate with family was huge for us after everything being so uncertain and changing. We felt so loved by them and supported, that’s what truly matters in the end. We had the most beautiful weather too so the atmosphere was so peaceful.

From one couple to another…

• Emotional perfection is overrated. Don’t put pressure on it by calling it your perfect day…just enjoy it for the gift it is, otherwise, you’ll overwhelm yourself
• If you can outsource the coordination on the day to someone who loves planning and run sheets you’ll be able to enjoy yourself more
• When planning your wedding celebrations, stay within your means – simple doesn’t need to mean basic
• We are glad that we invested in a good photographer and videographer, we are so grateful for all the memories they captured.

Venue The Fire Pit Camp

Photography Darina Stoda Photography

Film Molly Jane Lewis

Catering Churros & Chorizo and The Fire Pit Camp

Dress Pure Brides

Suit Moss Bros

Shoes Goodwin Smith

Shoe Tattoos Dan Tidd

Florist Hana Flower Works

Accessories Lucas Ruth

Art The Hidden Pearl Studio